Raising a glass to our Bafta lluvies

BOOZING, schmoozing, winning and losing... it’s Bafta Cymru time again. In years past, such was the Bacchanalian carnage of this gathering of Wales’ media elite it could make a Roman orgy look like the AGM of the WI.

BOOZING, schmoozing, winning and losing... it’s Bafta Cymru time again. In years past, such was the Bacchanalian carnage of this gathering of Wales’ media elite it could make a Roman orgy look like the AGM of the WI.

And that was just the opening ceremony. In the Stifyn Parri era nothing less than pyrotechnics, acrobatics and body-oiled dancing boys emerging from Shan Cothi’s petticoats would do.Š It also used to be a grub before gongs format which meant guests were hoovering up every last drop of alcohol before the formalities. By the time the first golden mask was doled out whole sections of the audience were face down in their chocolate tortes.

Switching venues from the Cardiff International Arena to the Wales Millennium Centre has improved the decorum levels. Not only is the WMC rather more glitzy it’s also a lot brighter, which means there’s less scope for falling over without anyone noticing. When the lights used to go up on the Stygian gloom of the CIA, imagine the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo with occasion wear.

They let the public in now too, ensuring the lluvies are on their best behaviour...at least until the aftershow. Yet for all the excesses of Pobol Pontcanna’s party animals the awards serve a serious function. Rewarding excellence, they remind us how vital it is to have quality film and television that reflects and explores our Welsh identity. That reminder couldn’t be more timely.

The Yes Vote to greater powers for the Assembly underlined the importance of a distinct Welsh identity. Yet it is a devastating irony that the more autonomy we gain the less we are able to reflect, investigate and scrutinise the full spectrum of Welsh life on the screen – from politics and current affairs to culture, landscape, history and sport.

BBC Wales is facing its programme budget being slashed by 20%, S4C is enduring the most tumultuous period in its history and ITV Wales has already suffered a reduction of its non-news programmes. In this context raising a glass to the best of Welsh programme making tomorrow night becomes a sobering exercise. So let’s celebrate our Bafta Cymru winners while we still can.